Programme

This course provides an in-depth study of international politics in the Middle East. Following an introduction on the historiography of International Relations (IR) and Middle East Studies (MES), the course provides a historical background on the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the imposition of the modern state system in the Middle East. The course then covers how the disciplines of IR and MES have dominantly interpreted international politics in the Middle East in three time periods:
1) The (Arab) Cold War with a realist perspective on alliance systems in the region, an English School perspective on the Middle East in international society, as well as an International Political Economy perspective.
2) The US unipolar moment with a focus on regional security complexes, constructivist perspectives on regional identity politics, critical theory on the US-led invasion of Iraq/war on terror, as well as liberal approaches/the international liberal order.
3) The (post-)Arab uprisings period with a study of the impact of domestic politics on international relations, neo-classical realist perspectives on evolving security dynamics, as well as feminist, poststructural, and postcolonial approaches to interpret international politics in the Middle East in a multiplex world.
The course also features three in-depth study modules which will focus on a) energy and environmental politics in the Middle East, b) conflict and peacebuilding in the Middle East, as well as a c) methodology module to prepare the students to write their final research papers.

Core Documentation

Textbook 1 (all chapters): Fawcett, Louise. International Relations of the Middle East. OUP Oxford, 2023 – Hardcopy available in our library
Textbook 2 (chapters: 3, 6, 11, 12, 15): Bouris, Dimitris, Daniela Huber and Michelle Pace (eds). The Routledge Handbook of EU Middle East Relations. Routledge, 2022 – Chapters provided by professor upon request
Textbook 3 (chapter 5, 15): Hinnebusch, Raymond and Jasmine Gani (eds). The Routledge Handbook to the Middle East and North African State and States System. Routledge, 2020 – E-copy available in our library

Attendance

Minimum Attendance Requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 70%; if further absences are recorded, grade penalties will be applied. Students who attend less than 50% of the course are not considered eligible for a passing grade. Not attending a class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally not be counted as an absence. Students who will need to miss class in order to observe religious holidays must notify me beforehand to make up for the work missed.

Type of evaluation

Assessment for the course will be based upon: a) Class participation (20%) b) Group presentation (30%) c) Final research paper (50%) Grading criteria for each of these components are as follows: a) Class participation will be graded according to 1) regular participation in class debates and 2) an ability to critically analyze the required readings, as well as theories, concepts and themes introduced in class. b) The group presentations focus on key works in the IR literature. Students should present the assigned reading only (not the related book chapter in the manual). Presentations need to have a well-organized and clear structure, should introduce the author(s) of the text, demonstrate an ability to summarize the argument and main ideas presented in the respective assigned reading, illustrate it with a case study of choice, raise critical comments to the argument, and introduce related questions to be discussed in class. They also need to respect the given time constraints. c) The final research paper is graded according to the following criteria (see also separate handout with more detailed instructions, including also the deadlines of the final research paper): - Focus: Is there a clear purpose, research question, and argument which is then supported throughout the paper? - Originality: Does the paper have an original argument or approach? - Organization: Is the paper organized well in introduction, analytical sections and conclusions? Is the analytical section well organized in empirical and theoretical parts? - Research: Is the claim well supported through research of sufficient primary and secondary sources? Are the sources well integrated? - Content: Is the content well presented and argued? Are ideas detailed, well-developed and supported with specific evidence and facts, as well as examples and specific details? - Style: Is the paper written in an academic tone? Is it suited to the audience it aims to address? Is a coherent referencing style used? Grammar/spelling/syntax/punctuation?